


Everyone's grumpy at twelve

by flightinflame



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Cinnamon Roll Dirk Gently, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Project Blackwing (Dirk Gently), Protective Siblings, Todd Brotzman is a Good Boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-07 22:44:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15229572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: The sound of trouble was coming alright, but it wasn't the rumble of a gun or the click of a taser. The sound of trouble in this case was a soft giggle, followed by a whimpering noise from the front seat. Cross darted forwards into the gap between the two seats, returning after a moment holding a wriggling, small human wearing an oversized grey t-shirt.Dirk and Todd get visited by the Rowdies, who deposit a de-aged Martin and Amanda on their doorstep.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Lourdes for betaing this! This is the 100th fic I'm posting on AO3, and I'd like to thank everyone for their support throughout.

"Well, fuck." That was Cross, and Vogel stretched a little, twisting around on the floor of the van to see what was wrong. "No, no no," Cross muttered, and Vogel tensed, scenting the air for Blackwing.

It was when Gripps sat up, his eyes wide, that Vogel registered that the problem was in the van. Reaching for the crowbar he always kept by his side in the van, he took a deep breath, trying to listen for any sign of trouble.

The sound of trouble was coming alright, but it wasn't the rumble of a gun or the click of a taser. The sound of trouble in this case was a soft giggle, followed by a whimpering noise from the front seat.

Cross darted forwards into the gap between the two seats, returning after a moment holding a wriggling, small human wearing an oversized grey t-shirt. He paused, then thrust it out towards Vogel. Vogel grabbed it from him, rocking it as it began to panic.  
"Do I feed on it boss?" he asked, frantic, staring down at the blond haired baby, which was grizzling and looked like it might at any moment start to scream.

"Don't... Don't do nothin'," Cross muttered, darting forwards once more. There was a clattering noise from the front seat, and he pulled back with a mousy haired toddler who tried to hit him on the head repeatedly.  
"Bab man!" she yelled at him. "TOB! TOB!"

Vogel glanced at the two children, and then at the worryingly empty front seats of the van.  
"She's.... she's yelling for Todd, isn't she Boss?" he asked, and then stared at the baby.  
"The fuck do we do?" Cross asked, and Vogel stared at the baby, praying for an answer.  
At that moment, the little girl decided to yell out again.  
"Tobb!"  
"What about taking 'em to Todd?" Vogel suggested. 

"It will take us about 87 minutes to get there," Gripps supplied, and Vogel nodded.   
"Okay. You drive, me and Cross are gonna... try an' keep the kids quiet...." He bounced the baby, still staring at it in horror. The van began to speed Cross got punched in the face by a tiny pudgy fist.

***

Eighty six minutes later, the van pulled up in front of the detective agency. Cross got out first, holding the little girl at arms length as she continued to flail and scream. Vogel got out more carefully, the tiny baby held in his arms.

The door opened, and he was greeted with the sight of Dirk, looking at the two of them in confusion. Before anyone could argue, he darted forwards and passed the baby over to Dirk, then stepped back. Almost immediately a stream of blue light shot from Dirk into the baby, lasting a few moments before it snuggled up against him.

As this had been happening, Cross had half-passed, half-thrown, the little girl to Todd who caught her perfectly. Cross had already started back towards the van.

"Excuse me," Dirk called out. "But I've got to ask why exactly you're assaulting us with children at this time of the day?"  
Vogel considered answering, but the engine of the van was already revving, so he climbed in without saying anything.

Dirk watched them leave, bouncing the baby in his arms, and looking at Todd. The girl had settled against him, her small hands clutching at his sleeves.  
"You know, she looks familiar somehow," he murmured half to himself, and Todd stared at him, then at the car. Finally, with the fakest smile Dirk had ever seen (which was really rather an achievement) Todd turned to the little girl.  
"Hey there Mandy!"  
"Hi Tobb!" she called back, a smile on her face. Dirk looked between the two of them, and then down at the baby.  
"Oh."

"What do we do?" Todd asked, and Dirk swallowed.   
"I guess we take them inside and get some food for Aman-for Mandy, and then we hope this fixes." He led the way up the steps, freezing as something smashed a window beside him. Hurrying over, he found a brick with a note wrapped around it.  
"Take care of them. We'll fix this. Van no place for kids."   
He showed it to Todd.   
"Looks like they don't know what's happened either. Still, I guess that a detective agency is a much more suitable location. We can use the cat-bed for Martin, and I'm sure that Mona would be more than happy to give Mandy here a teddy bear-"

Todd stared at Dirk in mild confusion, noticing that a thin streak of pale blue light was travelling from his chest to the baby.  
"Dirk, he's feeding on you."  
"I'm wildly aware of that," Dirk answered, his voice soft - trying not to upset the child, and that was worrying in itself.

"Dirk, why are you managing to not freak out at this?"  
"It's hardly the first time this has happened to me Todd."

"When you say this, do you mean the feeding, or the babies, or the fact my sister is suddenly about two-"  
"I mean the babies. They turn up remarkably frequently as clues, really. I've got quite good with them. But we should probably contact Farah."

"Why would we contact Farah of all people?"  
"Because she will know how to babyproof things," Dirk reasoned, carrying Martin back inside the apartment and settling on the sofa, the boy propped up on his legs. "How is Mandy doing?"

The little girl seemed a lot calmer now that she was with her brother, cuddling up against his leg.  
"She's... I guess she's okay Dirk? I don't know. She's literally a toddler. She's not telling me these things."  
Dirk sighed dramatically, cuddling the baby boy that was settled in his lap, and was looking calmer now. As he watched, the child fell asleep, and he looked towards Todd. Todd was feeling frantic, and desperately hoping that Dirk had an answer to this, but Dirk's expression looked serious.

"Well, how do we fix it?"  
"I don't think we can-" Dirk began, before seeing Todd's expression and shaking his head. "I mean, I don't think it's something that we fix. I think we just need to let this play its course, and it'll get better in its own time. Until then, where's Mona?"  
There was a crash from the corner of the room, and a small teddy bear in a pink tutu appeared on the kitchen counter.  
"There we go, that is for Mandy," Dirk explained and Todd went to grab it.

It felt weird, calling her 'Mandy', after she had thrown a tantrum at him when she was four, yelling at the top of her voice 'my name not Manny! 's manna!' . He felt his insides twist slightly when he thought about what would have happened if this had been Dirk, if his boyfriend was not only a small child, but one which would only respond to a name that he hated.

Todd was jerked from his thoughts by his sister placing her new teddy on his lap, and gesturing for him to pick her up. He did so, and nuzzled his face into her hair until she giggled and batted him away. It was good, to see her so carefree, even if this entire situation was awful.

"How do you think this happened?" he asked Dirk, who was looking at the baby in his lap thoughtfully.  
"I don't suppose you have a tape measure? I think he's got bigger, but that might just be-" Dirk mumbled, then seemed to register a question had been asked.  
"I think the universe is just messing with us to be honest."  
Todd sighed, rubbing at his forehead and nodding.  
"I'm going to put a movie on for Mandy, then call Farah." He was dreading that call. For all that Farah tried to manage the work they got caught up in, occasionally she would struggle. And he was fairly sure 'my sister is a toddler' was one of those things it was hard to get your head around.

He left his sister on the sofa with Dirk, the Jungle Book playing on the television. Making his way to his phone, he called Farah. She answered after the first ring.  
"Sorry, I know this is your day off, but we've got a bit of a situation."  
"What kind of situation?"  
"... Amanda's about two and Martin's a baby and the Rowdies dumped them on us and lef-" he glanced out of the window. "The Rowdies dumped them on us, then went to sit just past the driveway in their van, hiding behind a bush. Not very convincingly."  
"I see," Farah answered, and he could actually hear her taking a number of calming breaths. "I'm on my way. See if you can find out what happened."

Todd hung up, and returned to the room where Dirk was sitting. There was no blue light this time, Martin deep asleep as Amanda watched the film.   
"I've got to go and see if I can find an answer to this. I won't be long."  
"Okay. Just... don't go too far," Dirk answered, and there was nervousness there. 

Todd nodded, and cuddled him for a moment.  
"And please don't turn into a toddler," Dirk murmured, as Amanda started singing along to the Bare Necessities, making the bear in her lap dance.  
"I'll do my best," Todd promised, and left the house.


	2. Chapter 2

He approached the van with caution, not sure what to expect. He hoped they wouldn't see him approach and run off. He heard laughter from the inside of the van. The driver's seat and passenger seat were empty, so he circled around the back, knocking on the doors.

There was a pause, and then the doors opened. It was Vogel who opened the door, only a fraction.  
"Come in," he said.  
"Quick!" That was Cross, and he clambered in, only for something to dart forwards and try to climb up his leg. He glanced down as the doors slammed closed, and found himself faced with brilliant red hair streaked with a rainbow of colours. Beast was no bigger than Martin, but she was already clambering around easily.  
"Look at this!" Vogel called out, grabbing a laser pointer and shining it on the floor.

"C'mere dottydot!" the tiny-Beast yelled, before jumping at it. As her hand covered it, Vogel turned off the light, and she frowned, carefully lifting one hand as though searching for it. She looked up at Todd, blinking her rainbow-coloured eyes.

"What the hell?"  
"She was in the footwell," Gripps answered. "Slept like a baby till we climbed back in."  
"She's really fucking cute!" Cross agreed, throwing a piece of paper towards her. She scampered forwards, grabbing it and returning it to Cross, then tugging on his sleeve until he repeated the gesture.

"She looks like a baby," Todd pointed out, watching as the tiny child scrambled up the wall of the van, attempting to climb onto the ceiling before dropping down into Gripps' waiting arms. Gripps poked her nose gently, and smiled at Todd.  
"She's a juvenile creature, not a baby."

Todd nodded, and then yelped as Gripps threw the mini-Beast at him. She held onto his shirt, and scrambled up the fabric before trying to lick his face. Todd yelped, nearly shoving her away before remembering she was a child.  
"Salty," she mumbled, then continued trying to lick him, before Vogel snatched her back into his arms.

Todd stared at the three of them.  
"Why are you hiding in my front yard?"  
"Nowhere else to be," Vogel said softly.  
"Boss's just a baby-" Gripps agreed, and Cross nodded.  
"We ain't leaving them behind."

Todd hesitated, watching as mini-Beast started to crawl down Vogel's shirt, head first. He opened the van door.  
"I guess while we try and work this out you could come and wait in-"

"TOBB!" Amanda's scream was piercing, and all three Rowdies looked up at the same time. "TOBB!" She ran from the house, her hands clutching her bear, stumbling slightly in the grey top that served as a dress on her.  
"What is it Mandy?" Todd asked, jumping from the van and running straight to his sister, picking her up and holding her close as she sniffled on his shoulder. The Rowdies moved forwards, and Todd waved them back - he didn't want them trying to feed on his sister when she was still a child.

She sniffled on his shoulder.  
"He pulled my hair."  
"What?" Todd frowned at her. "I'm sure Dirk didn't mean to-"  
"Nod Dirk," she protested with a shake of her head. "Dirk's having a nap,"  
Todd almost swore, stopping himself just in time. He didn't want to be a bad influence on Amanda - she'd swear soon enough, but he felt awkward doing it.   
"Who pulled your hair sweetheart?" he asked as he carried her back towards the house. 

"Dunno..." she mumbled, then blinked. "Who your friends?"  
Todd glanced back and saw that all three rowdies were following, all armed - Gripps had a brick, Cross had a crowbar and Vogel was holding something he recognised as Amanda's baseball bat. He felt a sudden sense of loss that his sister wasn't really there at this moment, couldn't see them.  
"They're nice people," he said simply. He didn't think that the Rowdies would cope well with Amanda being frightened of them. 

He pushed open the door, and was met with a sight of utter chaos, boxes overturned and furniture damaged. For one horrific moment he wondered if it had been a Blackwing raid, but then his eyes were drawn to Dirk lying on the sofa in front of the smashed television screen - his skin was pale and his eyes closed.

Todd started forwards, holding Amanda to his chest. He could see Dirk was still breathing.

Something cluttered behind him, and he spun around to find himself faced with a boy of about five, who was holding a beer bottle over his shoulder like a baseball bat. The boy looked up at him and snarled, then rushed forwards. 

Todd stumbled backwards in an attempt to protect Amanda.

The Rowdies surged forwards to protect him, and he was startled to realise that Beast was clinging to the back of Gripps' shirt, her face nuzzled into his shoulder, completely at peace. She looked like she might be taking a nap. 

A scream from the little boy made him focus, and he braced himself, expecting Martin to start demanding to see his parents. He tried to look through the gap between Cross and Gripps, and saw that the boy had moved into a wide-footed stance, the bottle held out ahead of him, eyes wide.  
"I ain' gonna' go back!" the boy yelled, snarling and trying to swing the bottle. He was barely up the adults' hips in height, but he was still standing there, looking like he was going to fight all of them.

Gripps stepped forwards, scrambling his hand behind him and passing Beast over to Vogel. He raised his hands, and began to drain Martin of his energy, only slightly, a thin thread of blue that he cut once the boy had seen it.  
"We will never take you back there if we can avoid it," he promised, crouching down, putting himself in swinging range of the boy's improvised weapon. "We don't like them any more than you do. It scares us."  
"We're freaks like you!" Cross agreed.

The boy hesitated, looking up at the other Rowdies, then swallowing.  
"Your baby's got rainbow hair."  
"Yeah," Vogel agreed. "Try petting her, she's ticklish..."  
Martin approached the adults cautiously, still swinging the beer bottle at his side. He paused in front of Vogel, his free hand reaching up to pat Beast.  
"Nice pat! Pat more please," she said quickly, and he giggled, dropping the bottle to the floor where it thankfully didn't smash. He patted her quickly, and Todd took a step forwards.

"We aren't from Blackwing," he said softly. "We fight them. We try and keep people like you safe. You and the others-"  
"Wha's Blackwing?" Martin asked, stilling his hand for a moment until Beast growled.  
"Pat more please."

Martin patted her, and Gripps spoke softly to Todd.  
"Blackwing was founded in 1988. Its predecessor, Black Book, was operational from 1945 until 1980 at which point all funding was cut. That's... That's when Martin got out last time."

Todd flinched, staring at the boy in front of him. He was so small. The thought of him being an experiment sickened him.  
"When did they-"  
"They caught us again in '91," Gripps muttered, shuddering slightly. "Had us for 78,696 hours before we busted out."

Martin was staring up at the adults.  
"If you ain' Black Book, why'm I in here with him?" he pointed towards Dirk, who appeared to be very slowly coming around if the soft whimpering from the sofa was anything to go by.  
"He's a fucking freak too," Cross answered, and Martin hesitated but nodded, trying to move his hand away only for Beast to pull his hand close again.  
"Nice pat! Pat more please."

He indulged her a little, looking up at the adults a little less frightened now.   
"Ain' gonna take me back?"  
"Never," Todd answered.  
That seemed to satisfy Martin, and Gripps carefully picked him up, letting Vogel take over Beast patting duty.  
"We're gonna make sure you're okay kid."  
"'m hungry," Martin muttered. "Can't eat much or people gonna notice-"  
"You ate Dirk pretty good," Todd grouched, walking over to the sofa, placing Amanda on Dirk's lap and then tenderly shaking his shoulder.

"Was asleep," Martin muttered, and Todd nodded, not sure he liked the implications here.   
"Growth requires a large number of calories," Gripps pointed out, and Todd nodded, cuddling Dirk for a moment. He didn't exactly like the idea of his partner being repeatedly feasted on by a growing Rowdy, but he wasn't sure the alternative was any better.  
Gripps stared at Martin, now cuddled against his chest.  
"You are alright now. I promise Black Book won't ever get you again," his voice trembled slightly at those words, but Martin seemed willing to trust him. Todd swallowed, and leaned in to nuzzle Dirk.  
"You just got taken out by a baby."  
"It was a hungry baby-" Dirk argued, only to yelp as Vogel moved forwards and dropped Beast down onto his lap.  
"Nice pat! Pat more please," she insisted, staring up at him, rainbow eyes wide with hope. He gave an overdramatic sigh, then reached down to pat her. She trilled contentedly, nudging his hand, and Todd decided not to worry about her for a moment. Amanda yawned, and climbed onto her brother.  
"Baby's weird."  
"You're weird too Mandy."  
"Am not-"  
"Are too..." Todd insisted, smiling a little. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

He was startled from that thought when Dirk gave a sudden yell. Glancing over he saw that Beast had attacked his hand, her sharp teeth and talons digging in. Dirk shook her away, and Gripps glared and grabbed her from him.  
"Nuff pat!" she announced to the room at large. "Food please."

Dirk stared down at the blood on his hand, frowning slightly.  
"Bloody hell, I should have remembered you're a Rowdy. Why do you all keep trying to eat me?"  
"Don't swear in front of the fucking kids," Cross snapped at him. For a moment, Dirk's expression looked like he might try and argue the point, before he seemed to realise he was outnumbered three and a bit to one, and he fell silent once more.

Martin stared at Beast, who was tugging at Gripps' sleeve insistently.  
"Food please. Food now. Food please."  
"You got any burgers?" he asked Todd. Todd shook his head, and Gripps carried her into the kitchen. Todd waited to hear things breaking, but he returned after a few moments with a sports bottle which Beast was drinking from.

"What's she got there?" Todd asked.  
"Chocolate milk and raspberry jam," Gripps answered.

Todd hesitated, then decided not to question it. At least she'd stopped trying to eat his boyfriend.

Dirk was staring at his bitten hand rather forlornly, so Todd cuddled him, and Amanda giggled from her spot between the two of them. He supposed she could be more trouble.

"Look..." Martin spoke, his voice quieter now, quivering a little as he stood in the middle of the room in clothes far too big for him, arms wrapped around himself. "I know ya said you’re all freaks like me, bu' I gotta ask, do any of you.. have y’all seen Oz?"

Glances were exchanged between the two older Rowdies, and Dirk closed his eyes stubbornly. After a silent rock-paper-scissors, Cross stepped backwards with Beast and Gripps crouched down in front of Martin.  
"I'm sorry kid. He didn't survive the experiments."  
Martin hesitated, looking up at them, then sniffing slightly, scenting the air. After a few moments, he nodded, satisfied by whatever it was that he had tasted from them.

The silence was broken by a soft whistling snore from Beast, who had finished her bottle and gone to sleep on Cross's shoulder.  
"So what now?" Todd asked, and Dirk swallowed.   
"I need to try and let Martin have some more to eat so he grows up more, and we need your sister and Beast to keep eating and sleeping."

"You can't keep feeding him. You hate it."  
"I know," Dirk muttered. "I don't have much alternative."  
"We can do it too," Vogel answered. "We're food too right, we've got energy, and I can feel the others are worried so that's more of it."  
"Thanks," Dirk muttered, glancing at the previously-youngest Rowdy. "I think we should order pizza for Mandy and Beast."

At that moment there was a knock on the door, and then it opened to reveal Farah standing there, a bag slung over her shoulder, and a gun in her hand. She quickly scanned the apartment, clearly satisfied by whatever she saw as she holstered the weapon, neatly dodging out of the way of an attempted charge by Martin.   
"Well, he doesn't look like a baby," she pointed out.

"He got bigger," Todd explained. "Mandy, this is my best friend, Farah. Farah, this is my sister-" He paused, realising he'd just called Farah his best friend. She was smiling at him as though planning to make him regret that, while Dirk looked a little hurt. He squeezed Dirk's hand gently, trying to wordlessly confirm to him that he was something else, something special. It seemed to work, because when Dirk smiled it reached his eyes.

"Someone tell me what's happened," Farah demanded, and Todd quickly filled her in. She listened to the entire story with admirable calmness, watching as Martin moved slowly closer to her before Gripps pulled him away.  
"We don't eat people who don't deserve it Martin. Not normal guys."   
That seemed to calm the boy down, and Farah took a few deep breaths before she turned her attention to the problem at hand.  
"There's a few obvious dangers here, but I can fix them. First off, what happened to cause this?"  
"During a period of unconsciousness we were woken by the sound of a baby crying and Amanda trying to get him to be quieter."  
"They'd gone to sleep on the front seat," Vogel supplied.  
"And then this went and happened-" Cross gestured in frustration.

"Any idea why this happened?" Farah asked, and was faced with a room full of blank faces. Beast shuffled slightly in her sleep, and she did look bigger than before now. 

"Pizza?" Dirk asked Farah, making a note of what everyone wanted.  
Dirk placed the order, getting Amanda the cheese-stuffed crust pineapple pizza she loved as a child, and Beast some that was covered in a mix of meat and vegetables. She woke up as soon as the food arrived, bouncing.  
"'roni! Roni! Roni!"

Todd sighed, surrendering a slice of his own to her, and watching as Amanda began to eat hers, carefully sucking the cheese from the crusts with obvious relish, and batting away Martin's hand when he tried to take some. She was yawning after a few slices, but that was the plan. 

Trying to stay calm was using most of Todd's energy at that moment in time. His baby sister was a literal baby, and until this fixed he had three lost punks wandering around the house with their rainbow haired toddler and their overly aggressive five year old, looking at him to make it all better.

Amanda yawned.  
"Bed?" she mumbled, and for a moment Todd was horrified to realise he didn't have a crib.  
"Come on," he said, leading her to his own bed and carefully arranging the pillows around her. "I'll be right here."  
She nodded, turning her attention to Gripps, Cross and Vogel, meeting their gaze with her own.  
"Quiet smash please,"  
They nodded, and she closed her eyes, almost immediately asleep.

Martin looked at where she was resting, a faint frown on his face, but it faded when he realised Todd was looking at him. He went to sit by Beast instead, patting her hair. She seemed to soothe him, and Todd guessed he could understand that. Martin was a big brother at heart, and if he was afraid the best thing he could have would be someone who he needed to look after.

Dirk approached, leaning in to whisper to him.   
"Farah and I are going to investigate the van."  
Todd nodded, letting them slip away unnoticed as he sat with the three leaderless Rowdies, all watching as Martin stroked Beast's hair.

Todd paused, then took out his phone and grabbed a couple of photos. All being well, soon this would be fixed and the photographs would let him prove to his sister that he wasn't making this up.

***

"Hey Todd," Amanda called out, climbing to sit on his lap and tugging his hair. He blinked away with a hiss, attempting to push her hands away. It was late evening now, and Todd had been planning to head to bed himself, but she clearly had other ideas.  
"Hey Mandy."  
"It's Amanda," she told him, with all the solemnity that her six year old self could muster. "You got big."  
"I did," he agreed, trying to keep his voice calm. She was getting older. That had to be a positive sign - at least it was a step in the right direction.

Dirk came to sit beside them, holding some soda for Amanda and a coffee for Todd. Todd gulped down the hot liquid, and Amanda sipped her soda, before slipping away, heading over to where Martin was standing by the wall. She held out her soda cup, and he shook his head but smiled, before returning his attention to the room.

Martin was looking at them all curiously, head tilted to the side, sniffing at the air to try and unpack any invisible threats or dangers he hadn't seen. It was unnerving to watch a child mirror Martin's gestures, to try and be braver than he was.   
"Hey," Martin muttered. "It's gonna be okay."  
Amanda nodded, leaning in and cuddling into his side.  
"Todd's here," she said with a childlike confidence. "Todd is the best brother ever. No matter what happens, he'll always be here for me."  
Martin nodded slowly, and silence fell.

Todd looked over towards them, and hissed suddenly as he noticed a faint bruise blossom on Martin's wrist as he sat there, sipping his drink.  
"Guys?" he asked the older Rowdies. "What's happening?"  
"Oh thank god," Dirk muttered. "I wasn't looking forwards to telling him-"  
"Dirk, bruises just appeared. How is that a good thing?"

"Because if his body didn't regain any injuries or marks he'd need to get his tattoos all over again," Dirk explained. "I mean, I'm all for losing any scars or anything, but...."  
"He's one of us." Vogel rubbed at his own shoulder. Todd felt a sudden, sickening burst of understanding, and nodded.

"I need a smoke," Todd muttered, needing some fresh air. He made it halfway to the door before a tiny hand grabbed his shirt and pulled hard.

He turned around and found Amanda glaring at him. He was a little startled to see she was grabbing him with one hand and holding her teddy bear - now black and wearing gothic clothing - in the other.  
"What?" he frowned at her.  
"Smoking's bad for you," she said firmly, releasing him to cross her arms around her teddy bear. "If you smoke I'm gonna tell mum and dad."

Todd sighed, thinking of the time when his sister was fourteen and he had caught her smoking weed.   
"I won't smoke," he promised her. "I just... need to get out into the fresh air for a bit."  
"Okay."

He took a step towards the door, and found she was following him.  
"Am I really not allowed out on my own?" he asked her.   
"'f I check your jacket?" she offered. He heard Farah laughing. He was pretty sure he had brass knuckles, some condoms, two lighters and a pack of cigarettes in various pockets.  
"It's okay, you can come out with me." He held out his hand, and she followed, staring at her teddy bear contemplatively.

"She needs a name," Amanda announced once they were both comfortably sat on the fire-escape.  
"I think she looks like a Mona?" Todd suggested carefully. Amanda considered, pressing her lips together and frowning a little before she nodded.  
"Okay, she's a Mona then. Hello Mona," she grabbed the bear's paw, making it wave up at her.

Todd had a sudden mental image of a horror film where a child's toy wandered through the house carrying a large knife. He shuddered.  
"Todd?" Amanda asked in concern. "Are you feeling okay?"  
She reached out and placed Mona on his lap.

Todd knew he was having an attack before it hit, managing to yell out Farah's name as the doll twisted, and plunged a kitchen knife into his thigh. He screamed in agony, gripping his leg, aware of Amanda sobbing and clutching the doll, and he grabbed for it, trying to protect her. A second cut slashed at his chest and he could feel the world spinning around him, but he grabbed the toy away from Amanda.

He could hear her screaming. He prayed he hadn't failed her, that the doll hadn't injured her. A vivid blue light shone suddenly, and he felt his body go weak as his heart rate slowed, and then Dirk was at his side, pushing something between his lips. He tried to fight it, to warn them about the doll, but Dirk just shushed him and gave him some water. He took his pills in silence, the sky seeming to spiral above him, and winced as Farah and Cross picked him up, catching a glimpse of Gripps holding his sister. 

That helped at least. Gripps would protect her, would make sure no one could harm her. He relaxed a little.

Dirk tucked him into bed, stroking his hair.  
"You forgot your tablets."  
Todd shrugged a little, glancing at Amanda who was with Gripps in the doorway.  
"She... I had a lot on my mind. Is she okay?"  
"Worried about you. Think you can see her without freaking out?"

Todd nodded, and Dirk signalled Amanda closer. She walked towards him, still clutching her bear, but hiding it behind her when she reached him.  
"Sorry I upset you," she mumbled.

"No," he reassured her. "It isn't your fault. I'm just sick."  
She nodded slowly, then leaned in and embraced him.  
"It's a feel better hug."

"Your feel better hugs are 98.41% effective," Gripps told her from the doorway, and Dirk nodded in agreement. Amanda grinned and cuddled him once more, then kissed his forehead.  
"I'm gonna go watch movies with Farah."  
"Have fun." Todd yawned and relaxed back against Dirk. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm not handling this well."  
"Given the circumstances I think you're handling it rather admirably," Dirk said softly. "There wouldn't be many men who would handle this many surprises at once."  
Todd nodded, and rested. He didn't feel Dirk slipping away, or returning to collapse against him, body exhausted and mind racing with thoughts. 

He woke up a few hours later, turning over to see that Dirk was asleep.  
"Hey sleepyhead."  
"Martin's hit twelve," Dirk muttered to himself, half-losing the words to a yawn. "He's a grumpy twelve."  
"Everyone's grumpy at twelve."  
"I'll have you know my behaviour at twelve was exemplary. I might not have done sufficiently well on testing to qualify for any actual rewards, but my general discipline was good enough that I got an extra blanket," Dirk said, sounding rather smug about it. 

Todd groaned slightly. He was too tired from his attack to deal with the awfulness that was Dirk's childhood.  
"Blankets are good," he muttered, thinking of the rather ridiculous pile of them that Dirk had - mostly stored under their bed because he'd made a fuss about Dirk having so many. Which of course meant that now he felt like the worst possible boyfriend. "Hey, Dirk, I'd like a blanket right now."

Dirk dived off the bed, yelping as he hit his head on the underside of the frame, and returning with half a dozen options. Todd looked them over - immediately discounting the one that had neon zigzags on it, and the tartan one - Dirk's love of blankets clearly matched his love of clothes. There was one that was sky blue, and another that was black and decorated with the occasional cobweb in silver. The fifth was a rainbow, but it was the sixth that drew his eye - it was yellow, the same as Dirk's jacket when they first met, and had sunflowers on it.  
"That one please?" he asked, pointing. Dirk handed it over and tucked him in.  
"I'm going to go and see how the others are getting on. And tell Amanda you-" he yawned softly. "Tell Amanda you're getting better."  
"Dirk, you're exhausted," Todd reasoned. "Come back to bed."  
Dirk climbed in, pulling the black blanket with him - it was subtle enough that Todd wondered if he was trying to be considerate.   
"You look cosy," he murmured, and Dirk nodded, soon falling into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Mona seemed to enjoy her job of looking after Amanda, Todd discovered when he left his room to find that Amanda was now ten, and sitting on the floor drawing, wearing a black dress with a puffy skirt, and writing saying "Evil Princess" on the front and back.  
"Where'd you get that dress?" he asked her.  
"Mona," Amanda said calmly, and Todd frowned a little, wondering if any more recent memories had stayed or if his baby sister had just adapted quickly to having a shapeshifting friend.

He headed towards the kitchen, planning to make some tea and bring it back to Dirk, who still looked exhausted, but he was tackled from behind by a weight jumping on him. Beast was larger now - no longer a baby but closer to a five year old. She clearly was yet to gain even a basic understanding of gravity. She scrambled up him until Gripps lifted her away.

"You need anything?" he asked Todd.  
"Just some tea for Dirk."

Gripps nodded, going to grab it from the kitchen, and as he reached there Todd heard smashing from within. Feeling a little nervous he approached, to find that Martin was there, throwing cups at the wall, watched by Vogel.  
"Hey, guys, those are mine!" he attempted to protest.  
"We'll get you more," Cross spoke from the corner. "He just needed to break something."

"What, why?"  
"Fifteenth fucking placement fucking fell fucking through," Martin snarled, his words punctuated by the sound of more cups breaking.  
"Huh?"  
"Foster kid," Cross muttered. "It's hard enough for someone in the system but when you're a freak like us-"  
Gripps walked over, wrapping his arms around Martin and leaning in to mutter in his ear.   
"You aren't alone no more," Todd heard, and he nodded. Martin swallowed, rubbing at his face angrily to try and hide the tears.   
"You are wanted," Todd said softly, and Martin shivered.  
"Sorry about your glasses man."  
"Not the first time my apartment got trashed," Todd answered with an easy smile.

Martin nodded, and Gripps carried him to the couch. By the time Todd walked back through with the tea made up to Dirk's specifications - some milk, a LOT of sugar - Martin was in the middle of a Rowdy cuddle pile. Amanda and Beast had joined in, even if they didn't entirely understand, and Martin looked calmer. 

Todd was relieved, slipping inside his room to find Farah and Dirk talking in whispers.  
They both look startled to be caught, Dirk ducking his head down as Farah smiled shyly. Todd considered challenging them, but then saw how pale Dirk looked and considered how much older Martin was. Dirk was clearly exhausting himself to feed the lead Rowdy and get things back to normal. Wordlessly, he held out the tea, and slipped into bed beside Dirk. Dirk cuddled up against his side tiredly.  
"Thanks."  
"It's okay. How's it going?"

Farah reached into the blanket that was on her lap, withdrawing a familiar stick topped with blue crystal. Todd flinched.  
"I hate magic," he muttered with conviction, making Dirk laugh softly. He liked Dirk's laugh. Dirk hugged him briefly.  
"It was in the footwell of the van," Farah explained. "Now, we could try and make use of it to reverse what had happened, but there's a lot of potential for something to go wrong, and they do seem to be healing, so I think perhaps it's better to just..." her voice trailed off, but Todd understood. It would be better to just leave them to get better on their own.

"If it's alright with both of you," Farah said softly. "I think that I should hang onto this until everyone's back to normal. It shouldn't be kept around children, too much potential for chaos."

Todd considered what had happened before, and nodded quickly, Dirk copying the action a second later.

Having an explanation for why his sister had magically been de-aged was in some ways reassuring. It at least meant he didn't have to worry that it was contagious. More of a concern was why the wand was with the Rowdies, and who had been using it. Still, everyone who knew the answers to those questions was currently under the driving age, so wouldn't be much help.

"Fuck!" came a sudden outburst from the living room, and he and Farah were on their feet in an instant, heading to the cuddle pile and finding that Martin's stomach and chest were bleeding heavily. He had fallen unconscious, barely breathing.  
Todd stared in wide eyed horror as Farah put pressure on the wound, before turning to the Rowdies.  
"Give him energy, he needs to get through this as fast as we can."

They obeyed, their energy flowing into Martin in thick blue lines. Within a minute the bleeding had stopped, and Martin looked a little older, the first potential hints of facial hair growing in. He looked at the other Rowdies, and they were all smiling in relief.  
"Ugh," Martin muttered, staring at his bloodied shirt.  
"We'll get a clean one," Todd murmured, going to find one as Farah carefully checked him over. He glared silently, but pulled on the blue t-shirt that Todd had brought.

"Is this a test?" he asked softly, looking between them. Gripps leaned in to say something. Todd didn't catch what he said, but it seemed to be enough to help Martin calm down, to get him to smile rather than stand there tensely. Amanda looked at him, and then walked over and embraced him utterly fearlessly.  
"Safe," she promised. Martin stared down at the little girl that was holding him, and opened his mouth as though about to argue, before he nodded and smiled.  
"Yeah. We're safe now girl, don't you worry about a thing."

Amanda nodded, yawning a little, and Martin paused.   
"You wanna have another nap girly?"  
She nodded, and Martin beckoned Todd over.  
"Come on, you sit there, and she can sit between us, she'll feel safe there."

Todd obeyed without thinking, as even now - not fifteen yet, Martin carried himself like a leader. He sat down, Amanda cuddling up against him and holding Martin's hand.  
"Todd will keep us safe," she promised. "Todd is the best brother."

Todd tried to ignore the twisting feeling inside him when she said that, knowing in a few years on her timeline he would be betraying her totally. He hoped he wouldn't have to witness any of her attacks. At least with the Rowdies here, the disease they shared wouldn't be able to harm her too badly.

It wasn't long before Amanda was asleep, and Martin looked to him.  
"What's happenin'?" he asked, then held up his hand before Todd started speaking. "I want the truth."

Todd looked at him, wondering. The kid was still young, but he'd adjusted to what he was. The anger was there close to the surface, but he was asking, and Todd owed him the opportunity to know.  
"I'm not entirely sure. You are normally a bit older than this, and you live with those three-" he pointed at the Rowdies, "Amanda, and Beast. But for some reason you all turned into little kids. It's getting better, but we're not entirely sure what caused it."

"Well that's a fucktonne of nerdy bullshit," Martin muttered to himself, looking more like his old self despite the youth of his face. But he nodded.  
"And you're not Black Book?"  
"No. Dirk and I, we're on the run from the same people you are. I swear on Amanda's life."

Martin pressed his lips together for a moment, glancing down at the sleeping girl and then nodding, holding out his hand for Todd to shake.

Todd shook firmly, his heart racing, sure Martin could smell his fear. He cleared his throat awkwardly when a sudden weight collided with his back, nearly pitching him forwards as Beast tried to join the embrace, waking Amanda in the process. Amanda yelled, and Beast yelled back, and Todd cringed.

Martin moved quickly, one arm over Beast's mouth and one over Amanda's.  
"Ain' no good in shoutin' guys. You're jus' givin' me a headache, you understand?"  
Only when both girls nodded in agreement did he release them, and Todd made a mental note to bump Martin up his "potential babysitters for the next child we find" list.  
"You're good with them," Todd mumbled, and Martin shrugged a little.  
"Spent lots of time in group homes," he said simply. "It's... good. Looking after the kids. They don't judge me for... for none of it. As long as you give good piggy backs, that's all they care about."

Amanda was snuggling against Todd, but Beast's eyes lit up.  
"Pigback! Pigback!"  
Martin sighed to himself, but stood up, grabbing her and swinging her easily through the air and onto his back, before walking over to the older Rowdies.   
"I... think this one needs some snacks," he murmured, and they all traipsed off together. Todd watched them go, and it took him a few moments to realise that Martin was testing the waters, checking he wasn't a prisoner in this house. He grabbed a pen and paper that Dirk had thoughtfully left within reach, and started to write out a rough timeline of the information he had gained.

Black Book's funding had been cut in 1980, when Martin was about five, and Blackwing got them in 1991. Which meant Martin would have been sixteen. Right now, Martin was about fifteen.

The next time Martin fell asleep, he'd be waking up in Blackwing. 

Todd grabbed his phone, intending to text Amanda before the soft weight of his sister at his side reminded him of the problem with that. He grabbed his sister's phone instead, praying her password hadn't changed. He unlocked it, finding Gripps' number and sending a message.  
'Next skip will be into Blackwing. Todd.'.  
'He'll be back before he sleeps.' Came Gripps' reply without hesitation, and Todd realised that the Rowdies had known that. This was their life, this was their existence. He felt a little sick.

Amanda yawned and stretched against him.  
"Can we go cuddle with your boyfriend?"

Todd opened and closed his mouth, and she giggled and copied it.  
"You look like a fish."  
"He's not my-" Todd started, then swallowed. Amanda had never blamed him, had said it was perfectly sensible that he liked boys and girls. He hesitated, then nodded.  
"He's very tired though, so you need to be quiet."

Amanda nodded, and walked with him into the bedroom, where Dirk was dozing and Farah was supervising him.  
"He's exhausting himself."  
"I'm fine," came a weak protest from the bed. "Anyway, we need to get Martin through the next seven years as fast as we can, which means he needs all the food I can give him."

Todd stared in horror, and suddenly felt sick as he considered how young even Martin had been when taken into Blackwing - he saw Dirk as a child, so Dirk had been younger, and Todd felt almost dizzy.

Amanda climbed into bed and cuddled Dirk.  
"You make my brother happy?"  
"I try," Dirk admitted, his voice a little shaky. She nodded.  
"Good. If you hurt him I'll hurt you."  
"I... don't doubt that in the least," said Dirk, running his fingers through Amanda's hair. He glanced at Farah, who was clearly trying not to laugh at seeing her co-worker being given the shovel talk by a ten year old.

Dirk looked more than a little nervous, and Todd couldn't blame him for that. For all he loved his sister, she was rather terrifying and quite protective, even if she was five years his junior. By ten she was trying to throw punches at people who were insulting his first band, sticking up for him. He'd still been her hero then.

"Thanks 'Manda," he murmured. "But Dirk is tired, so please don't traumatise him and let him sleep, okay?"  
"'Kay." She yawned, and Todd laid down with them. Within a few minutes he could hear that both Dirk and Amanda were asleep, so he shuffled slightly, facing Farah.  
"Thanks for coming over."  
"Hey, you know what they say," she smiled. "A friend dealing with a deaged sibling crisis is a friend indeed."  
"Something like that." Todd agreed. "I just... how did this... how is this my life?"

"Would you want to go back to before?" Farah asked curiously. "I mean, I wouldn't want to lose Tina, or the agency, but if you could, would you-"  
Todd shook his head. He didn't want to go back to the person he'd been before this, and he didn't want to lose Dirk. He sighed.  
"I could do with slightly saner problems though."  
"That.... that is a perfectly reasonable desire, but I've got to admit based on what we've seen so far I see absolutely no possibility of that happening."

Todd laughed softly, and she smiled back at him.

***

Todd woke up to the smell of pizza, and Dirk looking a little more human, his skin back to its normal colour. That was a comfort, he didn't particularly enjoy his boyfriend doing a surprisingly good impersonation of a corpse. Dirk was sitting up in bed, and Amanda was nowhere to be seen.  
"She's helping Mona and Farah make some mocktails."  
"Why are they-Mona's a person?"

A flash of offence passed across Dirk's face.  
"Mona is always a person Todd, I thought you understood that. But yes, currently Mona is in her human form because she wanted to help with the drinks."  
"And the Rowdies?"  
As though on cue, a familiar rumble sounded from the street below, as the van parked outside their place.

Todd closed his eyes and counted to ten as they rattled up the stairs, Beast's shouts of "RONI!" already echoing. He wasn't sure that this much pizza was good for her, but it was clear her natural diet consisted of hamburgers so perhaps this was providing all the nutrients a growing… whatever she was... needed. The Rowdies were now in the main apartment, and he could hear Amanda talking to them, explaining about the mixture of lemonade and blackcurrant juice she had prepared, as Beast continued to demand her share of the pizza.

Dirk smiled softly, getting to his feet and heading to face the chaos, Todd following a moment later. 

The living room was in exactly the same kind of state as he had expected when he'd heard the Rowdies arrive - the four of them were flopped on the floor, Beast alternating between jumping over them and stuffing her mouth with slices of pepperoni pizza. Amanda, Mona and Farah were standing by the kitchen, each with a little cocktail umbrella tucked into their hair. He smiled slightly at his sister, then yelped as Dirk grabbed a spare paper umbrella and stuck it behind Todd's ear.  
"There, now you're pretty."

Todd glared, but picked up a drink, grinning at Amanda.  
"These are great. Did you guys get the snacks you needed?"  
"Some of them," Martin answered, and Todd found himself wondering if perhaps it wasn't just Beast who had eaten while they were out. Still, Martin was as lanky and awkward as he had been when he left, which was good.

Todd grabbed some pizza, sitting on the couch with Dirk. He leaned over and rested his head on Dirk's shoulder, and Mona giggled slightly.  
"You got anywhere safe?" Cross asked. "Something we could smash the shit out of without getting hurt?"  
Todd stared at him. His and Dirk's apartment was more than large enough for their needs, with their bedroom and a guest room which doubled as an office, but nowhere secure.

He shook his head.

Vogel frowned.  
"We gotta stick together. It isn't right to split up."

Mona cleared her throat.  
"I can do it. I can be a room-" she shivered. "Not… not like there. But if we move some things, make a space on the floor..."

Dirk and the Rowdies hurried to follow her suggestion, as Martin watched nervously. She transformed into a room taller than a person, its walls a pale blue in colour and soft to the touch.

Todd smiled for a moment, before registering that his friend had just turned herself into a padded cell. Dirk looked pale, and he reached out to squeeze his hand, knowing there was nothing he could say to help.  
"We better sleep in there next time," Cross said, and Amanda whimpered, her eyes wide.

Martin said nothing, merely nodded, the movement a sharp aborted jerk of the head, his eyes looking almost dead.  
"Only for a little while?" he asked, and there was fear there, real fear. The mask was slipping, and Todd felt almost like he was intruding to see it.  
"Only a little while," Dirk agreed, and if his voice broke slightly, no one mentioned it.

***

"Don't want you to go," Amanda whined, wrapping her arms around Martin. He sighed, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead.   
"I know kiddo. But you gotta, I'll come back, I promise."  
"Pinkie promise?" Amanda asked, holding out her little finger, eyes serious. Martin gripped her pinkie finger with his own.  
"I'll come back." He turned to the others. "Better none of you make a liar outta me."

"We won't," Todd promised, and Gripps sighed.  
"I think we need to remove ourselves soon-"  
"Vogel, you stay here," Cross ordered, and Vogel flinched as though he had been slapped.  
"What?"   
"You should stay out here," Martin agreed. "After... if I know you, if this is true, I wouldn't want you to see me hurt. I... I take care of you, not-"  
"Bullshit," Vogel interrupted, crossing his arms and holding his head up.

"What'd you say?" Martin frowned.  
"It's bullshit!" Vogel repeated. "You always took care of me, even when it got… even when it got real bad for you. You'd piss off the guards so they wouldn't hurt me, and you'd tell me stories and you never got mad that I can't read good and you wouldn't..." He was shaking now, and Amanda had embraced him. He clung to the little girl, his body shaking with emotion. "You'd do fucking anything to keep me safe Boss. Even... you made sure me and Drummer got free. When those monsters came for us, you kept me safe, and now you won't let me do the same to you? That's fucking bullshit, boss."

Martin hesitated only for a moment, and then he nodded.  
"He comes in with us."

Dirk hesitated.  
"I'm not sure how much energy I can give you."  
"We'll help-" Vogel murmured, but Martin shook his head.  
"Don't want none of you boys weakening yourself. I'm... I'm stronger than I look. If I kick off, need to know I can trust you to keep these little ladies safe-" he pointed at Amanda and Beast. "That other one too," he patted the side of the cell-that-was-Mona. "Guess I better eat and go for a nap."

Martin was trying to grin, but it looked stilted somehow, a fake smile that didn't meet his eyes. Dirk stepped forwards.  
"Take as much as you can. You've never managed to kill me yet."  
"You sure, boy?"  
"I'm about twice your age," Dirk protested, then nodded. "I'm sure. I've been where you're going, wouldn't want anyone in there for a moment longer than I could avoid. You'll be with your boys, and I'll try and get my strength up for the next one soon."  
"Thanks." Martin's voice was gruff, but he moved closer, until he and Dirk were almost touching.

Todd flinched, moving to stand behind Dirk, arms around his waist, supporting him as the blue light poured from Dirk to Martin. He could feel Dirk whimpering against him, struggling in his grip, mouth opened in a silent scream.

It was only a few seconds before the light flickered out, and Dirk collapsed backwards against Todd.

Todd struggled under his weight, until Gripps picked Dirk up and carried him to the sofa.

Martin crouched down to talk to Amanda.  
"I know you don't want me to go girl, but I got to. I'll be back soon enough, and until that happens I'm giving you a job, okay? You gotta take care of your brother and his friend for me. I know it's scary, but they need someone to look out for them, and I know you can do it."

Amanda nodded, and he embraced her for a second, then moved towards the cell. The other Rowdies followed, Cross depositing several knives by the door. 

Todd watched as the door swung closed. Dirk was shaking now, and Beast tried to climb him.  
"Bibbit sad?" she asked, pawing at him in concern. He wrapped his arms around her for a moment, then sat down on the sofa, staring at the cell.  
"Yeah. Bibbit... Bibbit's sad right now," He agreed, eyes half-closed and skin pale.

Amanda climbed up next to him, and rested her head on his shoulder.  
"Do you want to watch the Jungle Book again?" she asked. "You liked that?"  
Todd went to grab some popcorn and hot chocolate, as well as some tea - he needed to get Dirk's energy levels up as fast as they could.  
"I put him back there," Dirk murmured, staring blankly at the Mona-Cell.

"Sounds like the only way out of this is through," Farah pointed out. "You're putting him there because it's the only way he can get out of it to who he really is."  
"Still don't like it," Dirk muttered, and Todd turned on the film, Amanda cuddling up and closing her eyes as well.

Soon he was the only one awake, watching the three of them take much needed rest. Amanda had gained a year or two, but Beast was now almost at adult size. He was allowing his own eyes to close when the screaming began, the noise echoing from inside the blue cell.

Amanda sat up instantly, looking around in confusion.  
"What's happening?" Her eyes turned towards the cell in the room and she paled. "What are they doing to Martin, why are they hurting him?" She grabbed onto Todd. "You've got to rescue him." She sounded desperate, but she still believed in him. He swallowed, and pulled her into an embrace, then reached out and pulled Dirk in too. Dirk was pale and shaking, his eyes closed as he rocked slightly where he was sat, half muttering to himself.

"Please Todd!" Amanda begged, and Todd tried to find anything he could say. He couldn't go in there, doing so would risk his life, but he felt awful sat outside waiting for the screaming to go away.  
"He's got pararibulitis," Todd said, and this new variation on an old lie tasted bitter on his tongue. "He knew an attack was coming, and his friends are helping, but he didn't want to have it around anyone else in case he lashed out-" Todd shuddered, remembering how he had described the pain back before he had understood the living hell that the condition could be.  
"What about the medicine?" Amanda asked. "Aunt Esther has medicine, maybe we can get that for him-"

The screaming died down, and Todd was relieved at that at least. Whatever was happening, Martin was starting to work out where he was. He could hear the muffled sound of shouting, but it was faded, not as sharp as the screams which pierced through to his heart.  
"He's got medicine in there," Todd lied again. His sister wasn't even thirteen yet, there was no other explanation he could give. It still felt like treachery.

"We need to protect him," Amanda said softly. "He was nice to me and to-" She paused, looked at Beast, and then looked at herself.  
"Did I get bigger?"  
"Yeah. It's okay Mandy, it'll make sense soon."

"Amanda!" Amanda shouted, crossing her arms and glaring at him. Todd had to bite the inside of his cheek so that he didn't laugh out loud at her, not wanting to provoke her even when he was amused by her serious expression.   
"Sorry Amanda." 

Dirk groaned faintly from beside her, and smiled at Todd.  
"You know, I really rather fancy a milkshake right now. Do you want to come with us?"  
"I'll come too," Farah said quickly, then paused. "Todd, can you stay here with Beast? We'll bring you both back one."

Todd hesitated, then nodded, looking at Beast who had discovered the television control and was exploring its buttons with interest. Todd could recognise when he was being deliberately left behind and therefore escaping more questioning from his sister, but he was glad for it nonetheless. 

He hugged Amanda and Dirk, making sure that Dirk had eaten some chocolate before releasing him into the wild so that he could go and get his strength back. Farah hugged him as well, and he turned to her.  
"Keep them safe,"  
"I will," she murmured. "Same to you."

Todd nodded, and watched the three of them leave, before collapsing back on the sofa as Beast continued to play with the television remote. She found a nature documentary, and watched in fascination, occasionally darting forwards to bat at the creatures. Luckily, the television was a fairly strong one, and she didn't seem to bat particularly hard. Todd didn't think his insurance would cover another replacement television, and they hadn't been solving any cases during this whole debacle.

He was grateful he wasn't the one that was currently a child. He knew he'd been a little shit as a teenager, cocky and expecting the world from everyone, a liar, and- he froze, realisation dawning on him. Amanda currently was twelve. By the time she was fourteen, he had lied to her about Pararibulitis. Not only that, but he had used the same illness to try and excuse the screams of Martin being tortured. He hadn't been trying to manipulate her there, but there was literally nothing more effective he could have done.

He felt his skin crawling, his mind trying to trigger an attack as the pills held him back. He could only hope that the Rowdies had emerged from their Mona-cage before the illness struck down his sister. He hadn't seen her first attack when she was young, away at college. He'd been getting high at a party when the call had come through.

This time, if she had an attack he would be there, medicine and Rowdies on hand to help steady her. It wasn't much, not after everything. But it was all that he could do.

He yawned, and Beast reached out to stroke her talons through his hair. She looked scruffy now, and there was a sadness in her eyes that was new. He paused.  
"Do you want a sandwich?"  
"Sammich!" she agreed, bounding towards the kitchen. After a moment, he got up and followed her, hoping that he would be going about this the right way. As far as he was aware, there were no instructions on how to look after her, so he just had to do his best. Another pained scream cut through the air, and Todd wondered what was happening inside the room. But that wasn't important to him right now. He'd promised Beast a sandwich, and she was bouncing up and down in the kitchen, repeating "Sammich! Sammich!" at him. He went to provide it.

***

Amanda, Dirk and Farah weren't out for too long, but it had felt like eternity for Todd, waiting for them to reappear. Martin and the other Rowdies had been thankfully quiet for a while now, and Mona seemed to be surprisingly calm for a padded cell. Todd sighed to himself, wondering why he had decided that this was a normal state of affairs.

He was looking forwards to seeing everyone back to where they were meant to be, but he had enjoyed seeing Amanda small again, knowing he was able to protect her. It was a feeling Todd had lost the right to a long time ago, one he thought he would never get the chance to regain. There had been a time when he thought he could protect her from everything, and now he knew that wasn't the case, but he still wanted to help.

They returned with the promised milkshakes, and Beast climbed the bookshelves to perch quietly and consume it, not saying a word as she licked every last drop from the plastic cup. She seemed content, and Todd found that strangely soothing.  
"How is everything?" Dirk asked, leaning against Farah slightly and clearly attempting to pretend he wasn't too tired to walk.  
"It's good," Todd answered, glancing back at the cell which was still quiet.   
"How was your milkshake run?"  
"It was good, thank you," Dirk answered. "I got a glitter one."  
"Of course you did," Todd muttered, but he couldn't find it in his heart to look annoyed at that. Amanda nodded.  
"I did too," she explained. "And Farah helped me get some clothes because Mona is being a hospital room-"

There was a logic there that Todd was grateful for, nodding a quick thanks to whichever of them had come up with that particular lie. It was easier if Amanda wasn't worried. At twelve, Amanda wouldn't mind hospitals. It was only later that they became her prison, days turning into weeks as experts poked and prodded at her before apologising to her parents and admitting what was wrong. Todd regretted that he hadn't been there then, hadn't been able to face her when she needed him. He held out his arms, and Amanda wandered over for a cuddle, burrowing against him. He reached up and stroked his fingers through her hair.

"Smile!" Dirk's voice startled him, and he was surprised to find a phone was being pointed at them, Dirk taking a few shots. A moment later Todd felt his own phone vibrate as Dirk passed on the images. He grinned and flashed Dirk a quick smile, letting him know that this was one of the better plans Dirk had shown since this whole mess had started.

They ate some more snacks before dinner, Dirk glancing repeatedly at the thankfully quiet Mona-cage.   
"I need to-"  
"You're not strong enough yet," Todd insisted. "Surely it's worse if you keep skipping him forwards a month or so at a time?"  
Dirk nodded.  
"If he calls for me, or any of them ask-"   
"Then you'll go in. I know. I understand that," Todd answered carefully. "I'm not happy about it, but I understand that's what you do. But for now you need to build your strength."

That resolved, the rest of the evening was a blur of Disney films and singalongs - led by Amanda, but with both Beast and Dirk joining in enthusiastically if not what could be described as tunefully.

When Amanda began to yawn, she made her way over to Dirk and Todd's bed, insisting that both of them, Farah and Beast all join her.   
"Amanda, we won't all fit," Todd tried to reason with her. She shrugged in response.  
"I like being near you," she murmured. "Means I can keep you safe."

After that he didn't have the words to argue, so instead resigned himself to a long night of getting elbowed in the ribs by Beast.

Utter exhaustion meant that sleep claimed him earlier than he would have expected, and that he was dead to the world when Dirk slipped away back to the Mona cell, finding his own way in, and when Amanda woke from a nightmare and curled up against him. 

He woke when Farah handed him a mug of fresh coffee, taking a few bracing sips of it. No matter what the situation, he was sure it could wait until he was adequately caffeinated.  
"Where's Dirk?" Todd asked as the coffee slowly drove his tired brain towards half-useful thought processes.  
"He's asleep on the couch. He tried to feed Martin again last night. It hurt him pretty bad, but we think Martin's reached his early twenties."

"Are we through Blackwing?" Todd asked, knowing that Dirk was going to continue to exhaust himself until Martin reached the other end and escaped.  
"About halfway by Gripps' estimates."  
Todd had encountered Gripps' estimates before, and couldn't help wondering how inaccurate that one would be. Still, halfway was something. They could work with halfway. The end was in sight, for all of them, and then maybe Todd would be able to get an answer about what exactly had happened to spark off all this strangeness, other than the vague sense it was somehow all Dirk's fault, and an awareness that particular feeling was unjustified.


	4. Chapter 4

Dirk clearly didn't want to talk to anyone as the next day got underway, lying curled up on the sofa, his arms tucked against his chest and head bowed.  
"Hey," Todd greeted him, poking Dirk in the leg until he curled up and left Todd space to sit down. "I told you you needed to rest."  
"I wanted to move it forwards," he murmured, shivering a little.

Todd paused, seeing that Dirk was really shaken. This wasn't just the feeding, this was something else which had hurt him.  
"Okay, I'll be back in a minute okay?" He darted back into their bedroom, picking out the rainbow blanket.

Carefully, he manoeuvred Dirk so that he was leaning against Todd's shoulder, tremors running through both of them. He wrapped the blanket around Dirk, then stroked his hair, sitting quietly. Farah waved, and murmured something about taking Amanda and Beast for a walk. Todd agreed, focusing on Dirk, hoping at some point the light would come back on in his eyes.

Dirk swallowed, turning to look up at him once they were alone aside from the Mona-cell and her occupants.  
"He knew me," Dirk murmured.  
"That's a good sign isn't it?" Todd asked, and Dirk's shoulders moved in a shrug, silent still. It was odd, seeing Dirk like this - it was something he'd seen only a handful of times before, and which always left him feeling nauseous. He thought of the time in the farmhouse, as Priest had hunted them - that was when he realised what had happened.

If Martin was in his early twenties, then Dirk would have been eleven or so. At that time, he wasn't Dirk. If Martin had recognised him, at best it would have been as Icarus, but the pain on Dirk's face suggested that he had used the other name for him. Todd twisted, leaning up awkwardly so he could place a gentle kiss on Dirk's forehead.  
"You're not with Blackwing any more Dirk. You're here, with me, and with Mona, and Farah, and Hobbs..." he paused. "I bet Hobbs would love to hear from you Dirk, you know he looks forwards to hearing all about our adventures."

Dirk's lips lifted momentarily in what might have been a smile, then he shrugged and looked down.  
"I don't want to bother him with this, not until it's sorted. Adventures are...adventures are always more fun when everyone's safely out the other end and still alive."  
"Everyone will get through this Dirk," Todd argued. "Beast is already nearly full grown, and Amanda's getting older, and... and Martin's getting more like himself every day. We're going to get through it okay."

Dirk nodded, but he remained silent, his eyes gazing off into the distance. Todd made himself embrace him, pulling Dirk against his chest and carefully rocking him a little. Dirk gripped onto his arms, and for a moment Todd expected to be pushed away, but instead Dirk held onto him tighter than before, almost desperate. Todd held him, not saying anything more, just trying to silently show Dirk that he was loved.

Dirk let go and stretched.  
"I'll go and make some space in the refrigerator."  
"Why?" Todd asked, releasing Dirk from his grasp. Dirk shrugged slightly and headed into the kitchen. 

Todd tried to clear up the pizza boxes that were cluttering the room, jumping when Amanda's familiar knock landed on the door. 

He opened it to find that she was grinning at him, sticking her tongue out - both lips and tongue had been stained a vivid blue by ice cream, while Beast's were an almost neon pink. Behind them, Farah held up a number of shopping bags.  
"Thought we could all do with some healthier food tonight, and I bought snacks and things - yogurt and chocolate mostly, but also a few fruit things. And-" she paused. "Where's Dirk?"  
"Kitchen," Todd answered, and she walked through. A few moments later, there was a rather delighted squeal, and Dirk returned carrying a glittery milkshake. He flopped back down on the sofa, wrapping the rainbow blanket around Todd's shoulders and pulling the rest over himself, cuddling up close and offering Todd his straw.

Todd managed to politely decline, unsure whether or not his body could handle that many chemicals at once. But Dirk didn't seem to be at all disheartened, continuing to sip at the drink and nuzzling against Todd.

Amanda looked at Todd curiously, crunching her way through an apple that Farah had passed to her.  
"Did you meet your friend through a support group?"  
"Hmm?"  
"For Pararibulitis?" she asked. "Your friend, the one in Mona?"  
Todd swallowed, hoping his sister would be able to understand why he lied, when she was herself again.  
"Not exactly. Dirk talked one of them into doing what they wanted rather than hiding. And it worked, they went out into the world and we... we met," Todd explained, and she nodded.  
"Mum and Dad are talking about remortgaging the house." She paused. "I remember that. But I remember being here too."

Todd hesitated, trying to work out what was the suitable minimum age for an explanation of timeline-fuckery.  
"Things are just a bit strange right now," Todd told her honestly. "I don't know why, and I'm not entirely sure how long it will take to make it better, but we will get there, I promise."

Cautiously, she nodded, reaching out and hugging him for a moment.  
"I'm sorry if I've been annoying," she mumbled. "It can't be easy, having to look after me when you're not... I don't want to make you panic or anything."

Todd hugged her tight, fighting back tears. Dirk's arms around him were reassuring. But he couldn't tell her, not now - not when his pararibulitis threatened to attack at any moment, to make a mockery of any confession he managed. He just had to listen, and to keep up the pretence.

He remembered the party, the look of horror on her face when she thought she'd ruined one of his few chances to leave the house. Then he thought of what was afterwards - her own attacks, and the fear that accompanied them, until she no longer left the house. How she would call him and ask about his day, and cling to the hope that he represented. How she had been frozen, for five years, waiting to get better, when he'd known in his heart that better wasn't going to happen.

Dirk's hand found Todd's own under the blanket, giving a reassuring squeeze and helping him to relax. He held on for a few moments, focusing on his breathing, and then managed to smile at her.  
"You're doing great Amanda. Really. I look at you and I see... I see the woman you're becoming, so brave and so ...so incredible. I'm lucky to have you as a sister."

She giggled and punched him on the arm. He flinched and rubbed at the spot, sure he would have a bruise, and then punched her in return. She retaliated by trying to launch at him and tickling him, and he tried to pin her down.

Dirk grabbed his blanket and the remainder of his milkshake, and retreated to safer ground by clambering up to the back of the sofa. 

Todd was a full-grown man at this point, not the lanky nineteen year old he'd been when Amanda was last this size, so he would repeat to his dying breath that he had let her win. The fact she was fast, and had amazingly pointy elbows, had nothing to do with it. She grinned down at him triumphantly, then held her hand out to Dirk.  
"Dirk, you're the prize, I've decided."

Dirk laughed slightly and shrugged, climbing down from the back of the sofa and kissing the back of Amanda's hand.  
"My lady."  
"You can't just steal my boyfriend!" Todd protested.  
"He gives good hugs and I want to cuddle him and watch a movie," Amanda answered. "You can make popcorn."

Todd hesitated, but a grin from Dirk had him heading towards the kitchen. He was willing to accept this slight indignity if Dirk was happy.

Farah sidled up to him in the kitchen.  
"Amanda was pretty worried about you earlier, and about Dirk. I don't know what to tell her-"  
"I've got to lie about this," Todd answered, then shrugged. "I mean, technically it's not exactly a lie? But..."  
"But it kind of is," Farah agreed. "Another skip or two and you won't have to-"  
"I'll have to tell her I didn't get better."  
"Only if she sees you having an attack," Farah reasoned. "So we make sure she doesn't. Let her keep that hope."  
"I messed up last time," Todd murmured. "I let her hide away-"  
"And if she hadn't she wouldn't be where she is now."

Todd was tempted to argue that 'where Amanda was now' was stuck in the body of a fourteen year old with no memory of who she actually was, but he knew that wasn't what Farah had said. If he hadn't failed her utterly, she would never have met the Rowdies, never found the men she was closer to than blood. He couldn't take that away, and while he'd never stop hating himself for the mistakes he'd made, he could see that he'd managed to cause this. It was an accident, but if he hadn't lied it would never have happened.

He leaned in to embrace Farah, and she cuddled him in return.

Shouts of 'POPCORN!' drifted in from the other room, Dirk apparently leading the demand. He finished preparing the snacks, carrying them through and sitting on Dirk's other side.  
"What are we watching?"  
"Nightmare Before Christmas," Dirk answered carefully, and Todd nodded. The films Dirk watched were carefully screened after a few particularly unpleasant incidents, but this one was one of his favourites. 

He handed the popcorn to Amanda, and she smiled up at him, her eyes still full of trust.  
"It's good to see you," she murmured, and he nodded. Soon she'd be back to who she should be, and they'd get an answer to what had happened. He just would cherish this while it lasted. That was alright. He'd been given a second chance, to see the sister he'd ignored, and he was grateful for that.

"We should make a blanket fort," Dirk announced to the room at large, with nothing in the way of preamble. Todd frowned, trying to follow his thought pattern, but Amanda and Beast both nodded their agreement. Dirk bounded off of the sofa.  
"Come on Todd, there are blankets to get."

"I literally just made you popcorn-" Todd whined, as Dirk grabbed his arm and pulled him to the bedroom, then presented him with about a dozen blankets. With Dirk's help he gathered them up, biting down on the urge to make any sarcastic comments - they had these because Dirk deserved them, and he wasn't going to make him feel that they might get taken away.

They trooped back to the others, and Beast started to bounce around. She looked almost agitated.  
"Do you have any of that burn cream stuff?" Amanda called out as they returned. "Bea's hurt her hands."

Todd went to have a look, hissing slightly when he saw the tender and blistered flesh. Beast cringed from him for a moment, then seemed to relax when he reached out to pat her hair.  
"You poor thing..." he murmured. Amanda had said that they'd found her in a cage. That she hadn't seen anything else like her during her time in Wendimoor.  
"Friend?" she asked softly.  
"Yeah." Todd agreed, holding his hand out to her. She sniffed it a few times, then licked it, before darting away, apparently satisfied by whatever she had tasted.

Dirk grabbed the neosporin, and signalled Beast over to him.  
"It's alright now," he murmured. "You did so well, it wasn't your fault, now let me-" he continued to mumble gentle praise to her as he cleaned her injuries, added the cream to them and then bandaged them. Todd tried not to think about what he was saying, because if he did he'd probably get upset. 

She held out both of her hands once he'd finished them, stretching her fingers and then nodding.  
"Bibbit good!"  
"Thanks," he smiled softly. "Come on. Blanket fort time-"  
Todd started towards the side of the room furthest from the cell, and was stopped when Dirk glared at him.  
"What?"  
"Mona loves blanket forts!" Dirk protested. "You can't leave her out."

It took Todd a moment to realise that Dirk was requesting that his friend was built into the wall of the blanket fort. Trying very hard not to think of horror movies he'd watched with Amanda when she was younger, he set about making it. Dirk was instructing and eating his popcorn, clearly too tired to actively participate.  
"You're going to exhaust yourself if you keep feeding him-" Todd murmured when the fort was created, and Beast and Amanda were inside.  
"I know what I'm doing," Dirk said firmly. "I wouldn't leave him there a second longer than I have to."

Todd opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything Beast and Amanda had both grabbed Dirk's feet, and with one smooth yank had pulled him under the blankets.

A second later, Todd joined him, and nearly knocked over the popcorn bowl.

Farah crouched down in the opening to the tent.  
"Will you guys be alright in here if I go and check on a couple of things?"  
"Probably?" Todd admitted, letting Amanda cuddle against one side as Dirk was on the other. 

Farah didn't take long before she was back, slipping into the blanket fort beside them and sitting quietly, meditating a little. After a few moments she opened her eyes, looking at Todd.  
"Everything's fine," she said softly, and Todd nodded in understanding. That was code to say she'd looked and there was no sign of Blackwing. It was a code passed between them at least once a day. He hoped it would never change, but if it became needed she could warn him. 

He hoped for Dirk's sake that was never needed. Dirk already lived in fear of Blackwing. But for now, he looked happy, cuddled up under the blankets beside Todd.

Todd wrapped an arm around his waist in an attempt to stop Dirk escaping, but when the film finished Dirk still slipped away, heading to the door of the cell and knocking.

"What now?" Amanda asked, and Todd knew she would see herself now as too old and too cool for bedtime stories.  
"You want to play a video game?"

She nodded, and he set up the controllers. Soon they were racing through a city on the screen, and Amanda was utterly enthralled. Todd was focused on the game for a little while, until Dirk slipped back out from the cell. He looked pale, and Todd was so startled that he crashed into a wall, catapulting Amanda into the lead.

He moved up on the sofa, and Dirk sat down, leaning against his shoulder. Neither of them spoke.


	5. Chapter 5

That night, no one went up to bed. Instead, the whole group curled up among the blankets that Dirk had provided - Farah on the sofa, her gun close at hand. Amanda and the Beast had formed a nest out of all the blankets, and Todd lay beside the pile, next to Dirk. Dirk had one hand out, resting it on the wall of the cell. 

Todd leaned over slightly.  
"Hey."  
Dirk's eyes took a few moments to focus, but when he did he smiled.  
"Hello Todd."  
"You look exhausted."  
"It'll only be one more. He's trying to hide... to say it's not a bad bit. But I can see it is. There was... there was a lot of blood, last time."  
"He hurt you?" Todd asked, sitting up, his voice raising until Beast growled at him in her sleep.

Dirk shook his head.  
"His blood. Think it was when Vogel turned up. They only had… storage space... for three of them and really they didn't need more than three for the experiments, so..." Dirk shrugged a little, and Todd stared at him.  
"Look, Dirk, not all of us grew up in... grew up there. I don't know how that sentence ends."  
"So they could really step up the testing on him," Dirk explained patiently, his eyes closed now, trembling. Todd pulled him close, rubbing against his back, and tugging a blanket from the pile to wrap around him. "See how much he could take, how quickly he'd recover-I knew I went to see Incubus a few times and he wasn't there, over a couple of months, but I never-"  
"You said you went to see the safe test subjects?" Todd queried. Mona was a long way from _safe_ in his view, but she was easy to regard as harmless.  
"I went to visit the other test subjects, yes Todd," Dirk explained. "However, the Rowdy Three did need to be kept alive, and food is an essential-"  
"They fed on you?"  
"I was afraid. It was ...exhausting, and rather painful, but in a way it was a relief to have some of the fear taken."  
"You were a child!" Todd hissed.

"So was Vogel," Dirk reasoned. "Anyway, I didn't mind. I'd be given the rest of the day off to recover, and you know how much I like lazing in bed when there's nothing better to do."  
Todd fought back the urge to cringe at that, thinking of times he'd yelled at Dirk for sleeping the day away.  
"Right now, Todd, I am lying here, surrounded by my family, within reach of the man ... within reach of you. I have a job, I have a fridge, there is leftover popcorn in the bowl, I have a boyfriend who has tolerated me buying a frankly ludicrous number of blankets, and I have the ability, at any time I like, to go and stand outside and look up at the sky. And right now, Martin is trapped in a cell, as his body tries to recover with the fact that for months, scientists have been testing his body to extremes, seeing what he can heal from and how much and how little he can feed on. He's barely aware of who he is, doesn't know what he is, and he's afraid. Do you know what frightens him Todd?"

Todd shook his head, not wanting to know the answer but aware the answer was going to come anyway.  
"He's frightened that he won't survive this. That he'll leave his guys to be experimented on by Blackwing. That one day he'll bleed out on the operating table, and the guards will take his body to the furnace, and then they'll go and fetch Vogel."   
Todd glanced at Dirk, and saw that tears were running down his face. He leaned in and hugged him.  
"You promise, when he's through this, you'll rest?"  
"I swear." 

"You're going to go in when you wake up?" Todd asked, and Dirk nodded. Todd wanted to beg him not to go, but he nodded, reaching out and squeezing his hand.   
"You'll wake me up before you go? That way I can make some hot chocolate for when you're back."

"Thank you," Dirk breathed, blinking back tears. Todd just held him close, and waited for Dirk to sleep before he tried himself.

He wanted to go in there, to ask Martin to feed on him, but he knew he might die, and he couldn't abandon Dirk. Not after he had been through so much already.

"Hey?" Dirk whispered, reaching out and tapping Todd on the shoulder. "I'm going to check on them, won't be long."  
Todd nodded, slipping out from the blanket he had been sharing with Dirk and going to make a hot chocolate for him, keeping it as rich and sugary as he could. He hoped it would help, even if it couldn't make this better. 

Once Martin was through Blackwing, things would be easier for Dirk. Dirk would no longer have to push himself to exhaustion trying to get Martin through the worst period of his life, and the other Rowdies would be around to help entertain Amanda. Not to mention Mona's return - he knew that Dirk missed her terribly.

Not that Mona was always in her human form, but this particular form wasn't one that Dirk could carry around with him. He had apparently carried her around for a long time before he had met Todd - never expecting her to change, but grateful simply for the company. Now she was home and safe, she was able to change her form a little more easily, but still preferred to avoid being human. Todd still felt that was kind of weird, but he accepted it, because Dirk did. 

The more he found out about Blackwing, and about Dirk's childhood, the more surprised he was that the man had ended up even vaguely approaching normal. Popping a handful of marshmallows on top of Dirk's hot chocolate, and adding a sprinkle of instant coffee to his own, Todd made his way through to the living room, placing the drinks down by the sofa and waiting for Dirk's return.

The door opened, and Gripps stepped out, carrying Dirk. He was lying limp in Gripps' arms, and the other man laid him on the sofa.  
"His breathing and pulse are rapid but steady," Gripps informed him. "He is breathing at 48 breaths a minute and his pulse is 226 beats a minute-" Gripps frowned. "Dropping slowly."  
"Is that good?" Todd hissed, as Farah blinked awake.

"Dirk passed out." Todd explained to her.  
"His heartrate and pulse are beginning to level-" Gripps explained, reporting back the pulse rate and breathing. Todd relaxed a little as Dirk seemed to calm, although his skin was pale and clammy.  
"I can't let him go back in there," he murmured. He wanted to respect Dirk's wishes, but he was pushing himself far too hard. "Not until he's better."

Dirk whimpered, squirming a little, and Todd wrapped his arms around him. Still unconscious, Dirk shuddered. Todd stroked his hair, watching as he slowly calmed, until unconsciousness gave way to sleep. Todd carefully stroked his hair, easing him awake.  
"We've got him now," he told Gripps, who slipped back into the cell. Farah picked up the hot chocolate, and Todd leaned in.  
"It's okay Dirk, you just need to have a drink, there we go, just sip that, you'll feel so much better-"  
Dirk nodded sleepily, managing to drink most of the cup before falling asleep in Todd's arms.  
"Do I wake him?" he asked Farah, who shook her head.  
"Let him rest, he needs that now."

Todd nodded, unable to get back to sleep. He continued to pat Dirk's hair, soothing him. 

He barely heard the noise of the cell door opening, but he jumped as Martin moved to stand in front of him - a little pale, and slightly thinner than he was used to, large dark circles around his eyes. But he was alive, and he'd left Mona.  
"He got me through it," Martin muttered. "I'm sorry."  
"It's his own stupid fault." Todd answered, continuing to gently stroke Dirk's hair. "Stupid self-sacrificing idiot." Dirk nuzzled into his touch.

A blanket landed over Dirk, as Mona abandoned her cell-form for something more familiar. He tucked the garishly yellow blanket around Dirk, and watched as Amanda and Beast slowly came awake. Dirk was continuing to nuzzle. Sunbeams danced across the room from a crack in the curtains.

Beast tore at the bandages on her hands with her teeth, yelping in delight when she saw that the injuries were gone. She stroked her own hair with her injured fingers, before beginning to bounce around the room, touching everything. She bounced forwards and hugged Martin, and he returned the embrace tightly, bouncing with her then handing her off to Vogel.

Amanda blinked awake groggily, her eyes lingering on Todd on the couch with Dirk asleep, head on his lap. She yawned and stretched, her shoulders making a faint clicking noise, and then she grinned to see Martin was back. She stumbled to her feet, reaching forwards through the sunbeam.

Todd was able to see the exact moment that something changed, when the situation went from fun to something else. She grabbed her arm with her other hand, starting to yell. Beast froze, then snarled and backed away, as Amanda curled up on the floor, screaming at her hand and trying to wrap it in the blankets that were there, batting at her arm and sobbing in sheer agony. Todd fumbled in his pockets for his pills.

Martin stepped forwards, resting his hands over hers, and he fed, the blue light drifting from her to Martin. She flopped forwards, her head resting on his thigh as she collapsed against him. He ran his fingers through her hair.  
"You're gonna be okay girl. I'm back, I'm going to look after you."  
The other Rowdies moved forwards, and they fed as well, and she whimpered faintly when they had finished. 

Dirk had blinked awake when the screaming started, but was so exhausted he had soon returned to sleep, lying unconscious in Todd's arms. Amanda stared around her incredulously. She was still a teenager, but she was older now. More like the girl he knew.  
"Hey sis."  
"Hey," she echoed, stretching and glancing across at Dirk. "Your boyfriend having a nap?"  
"Late night." 

She shrugged, then stumbled to her feet with Martin's help. He wrapped his arms around her, and she buried her face in his shoulder, letting him hold her close.  
"It's gonna be okay," he told her. "I'm gonna get you through this. Me and my boys, we're gonna get you through this."

"Is that..." she swallowed, leaning against Martin for a few moments before lifting her head and looking at Todd. "Is that what it's like? Every time?"

Todd hesitated for a moment. He could be honest - that attack had been sharp, quick, the worse ones would last longer, or be accompanied by images which left you shaking hours after the pain had gone, as you struggled with the thoughts echoing around your mind. But she needed comfort now, not honesty.  
"Some of them. Some of them aren't so bad," he mumbled. "You... you get better at remembering it's not real, given time."

Amanda nodded, looking at him curiously, pressing her lips together and sighing.  
"Talk to me about what's happening? Because like, you've got about ten years older, and I remember being here when I was small, and I don't know who these guys are but there's a blanket over your boyfriend that used to be a girl, and I'm pretty sure I _wore_ her at some point, so please tell me what the fuck is going on!"

Todd hesitated, and then she paused, and laughed, and he laughed to, their eyes meeting.  
"Drugs!" they yelled in unison, and Dirk whimpered faintly from Todd's lap until he was wrapped up tighter in the Mona blanket. Todd noticed the embroidery on her now said "Quieter please?". He nodded.  
"Okay, so... a whole tonne of majorly messed up shit happened. But the key things are Amanda, uh, you're normally like, twenty four now. But you got de-aged, as did Martin and, uh, Beast-"  
"What is she?"

Todd sighed.   
"Look, I'm trying not to overcomplicate things. About four months ago you decided it was a good idea to get into a van with a bunch of homeless magic guys, who you may or may not be dating-"  
Amanda looked at Martin, then at Cross, Gripps and Vogel, and punched the air triumphantly. Todd tried not to think about it too hard.   
"Anyway," he continued forcefully. "After you decided that magic homeless guys were the way forwards, most of them got captured, and uh, you rescued them, because you're a total badass. And you kind of have magical powers. And you stole a magic wand from a fantasy realm-"  
"I what?"  
"You heard me," Todd sighed. "Anyway, you and magic homeless guys, the Rowdy Three, have been driving around with Beast who came back from the fantasy realm with you. And we were going to meet up because Dirk wanted to talk to you, partially because you've got this whole voice of the universe thing going on but mostly because he knows you'll go out for ice cream with him, and the night before you were due to turn up, something happened. And I got handed you as a toddler, while Martin was a freaking baby, and we've been watching you grow up. Only a whole lot of Martin's life was alien-abduction levels of fucked up, so Dirk, who like you said is my boyfriend, has been trying to get him through it. Martin and the rest of the Rowdy Three feed on energy. Human energy. That's how they helped you with the attack."

Amanda stood there quietly, taking a couple of deep breaths.  
"You're fucking with me?"  
"No."  
"How did you get a boyfriend Todd? Last I heard you were completely and totally straight and someone else must have given Adam that hickey at the sleepover-"  
"I grew up?" Todd admitted, and sighed. "I grew up, and I met Dirk, and I realised what a shitty person I've been. What a shitty brother I was, and you deserved better. But I'm gonna try. And I'm gonna keep trying. Because seeing you grow up, it's... you became someone great. You were trapped by your illness, and that's probably where you are right now. You remember going out much recently?"

Amanda shook her head, and he sighed.  
"I turned my back on you. You got trapped in your sickness, until Dirk gave you the push and you rescued yourself, because like I said, Amanda, you're a fucking badass." Todd carefully eased Dirk onto a cushion, making sure he was comfortable before he slipped away. He walked over, and Amanda leaned in, letting him hug her. They embraced tightly for a minute before he pulled away, reaching out to poke her on the nose.  
"I mean, you're still a pain in the ass," he told her. "But you're my sister."

"So what now?" she asked softly. "I mean, do we just... I guess I'm gonna keep getting older right? So do we wait for that, or?"  
"I guess we wait," Todd agreed. "But... this part of your life, it kinda sucked."  
"Because I get sick?" Amanda asked, and if her voice was shaking a little Todd could pretend not to hear it. "Is that... is that what goes wrong for me? These attacks? Do they get better?"  
"No," Todd said, as kindly as he could. "Not yet, anyway. Maybe they will, but you have the Rowdy Three now, they feed off you, they help. It's not perfect Amanda. Our lives, they're a really long way from perfect. And you got trapped. For so long, you were afraid of facing the world, and I wasn't there when you needed me because I was caught up in my own bullshit. But now, you're where you should be, and you're doing what you should do. And I'm really fucking proud of you."

Amanda nodded, looking around at them.  
"I'm dating you?" she asked Martin. He shrugged.  
"Look, I still got like, ten years to go on my time stream from what my boys tell me. I ain't the one to ask. But yeah, I think so."  
"Oh that's awesome," Amanda muttered to herself, and Todd sighed, returning to Dirk who was rocking himself slightly in his sleep.

"So what now?" she asked, looking towards Todd. Todd stared at her, and shrugged a little.  
"I... don't really know."

"You're saying I got stuck in the house with my attacks right?"  
"Yeah," Todd agreed, and Amanda hesitated, reaching to play with her hair, which was hanging down at her shoulders.  
"And you swear this isn't all some kind of joke?"

Todd pulled his phone from his pocket, passing it over. She examined it.  
"Holy shit, okay, yeah this is real," she handed it back. "Okay. So, like, it'll take a day or two for us to be fixed-fixed? What about Beast?"  
"I think she's almost there?" Todd asked, glancing over to where Beast and Vogel were playing with a laser pointer. "It's kind of hard to tell."

Amanda nodded, then paused.   
"Okay, so we're going out."  
"Out?"  
"We're going to the park, because I'm not old enough to drink, and you're buying beers. Gripps, you can pick Dirk up, right?"  
Gripps nodded, and her grin widened.  
"Okay, so we take Dirk and some blankets, and we get some beers and some snacks, and Farah you can help me pick out somewhere to go. And maybe we can have a barbecue or something-"  
"I love fire!" Cross shouted, and Amanda laughed, spinning around and high-fiving him, her eyes lit up with sheer delight.

Todd had never seen her this happy back then. But now, she was taking the happiness for herself, and he let himself be dragged along for the ride.

***

The party lasted late into the night, and Todd was pretty sure he'd have a dreadful hangover in the morning, but that was okay. Amanda was soot-streaked and exhausted when she collapsed back onto the mattress Dirk was lying on, and he shuffled up so she could have more space. Martin and his boys were lying on the ground nearby, in a tangle of limbs, and Farah had had the sense to collapse in the back seat of the car, leaving Todd with the front seat. He was sure his neck would be stiff tomorrow - he was getting too old for this. But he could see his sister was smiling, leaning in to talk to Dirk, her fingers running in circles over the mattress which changed colours in response.


	6. Chapter 6

Martin stared at his boys hesitantly. He knew them, all of them, but he was behind. He was missing ten years of memories - of love, of laughter, and of terror. Icarus - Dirk - had barely managed to be conscious at all today, exhausting himself, and all the time he was here, the boy would be tempted to help him again. He took a deep breath.  
"You all sure about this."  
"Course we are boss," Vogel answered, and he was so much older now, so much more confident but still so energetic. Martin knew that if he didn't take enough, he could end up back in Blackwing, but it was only a couple of months. Even if that happened, this time he would know Amanda was coming for him. This time, there was hope, and that made it more survivable. He took a deep breath, and began to feed from the other three, the blue light flowing from them and passing him their strength.

***

Beast curled up at the foot of the mattress, near to Bibbit, and let herself sleep, her stomach full of candy and her mind telling her she was safe. She poked the mattress.  
"Gotta be a blanek?" she asked.

The girl who smelled like the boy Bibbit smelled like threw a blanket at her.  
"Tha'ssa good blanek," she muttered, closing her eyes and letting herself sleep.

***

"You love him?" Amanda asked, staring at Dirk curiously. In so many ways, he was the opposite of what she would have expected for Todd, but his goodness shone through.   
He nodded quietly. "More than life itself."

"Good," she yawned. "Just, when I'm older, remind me I've got some embarrassing baby photos of his to share with you."

Dirk laughed softly, before he fell back asleep, exhaustion still claiming him.

***

Soft rays of light slowly danced through the trees, landing on the site where they lay. Martin was tending to the fire, as Gripps and Cross prepared breakfast and Vogel hunted for water. Martin glanced over to where Drummer lay on the mattress, her hands entwined with Icarus's. She looked content, her eyes still closed. 

As he watched, Farah walked up, handing him some more firewood.  
"You sleep okay?"  
"Never better."  
"Remember what caused it?"  
"I just remember... I heard Drummer screaming, and I went to feed, and then-" he shrugged. "I guess something happened, because next I know I was five years old and fresh out of Black Book."  
Farah nodded, crouching beside him.  
"Your brothers did a good job taking care of you. Even if Todd calling me up to say he had a baby thrown at him was one of the weirder experiences I've had."

"Course my boys did. I taught them right." He grinned at her. "Now, you go and get some more rest, I got this."

Farah slipped away, and on the bed Drummer stirred, stretched, and then grinned.  
"Hell I missed you guys!" she shouted, running across and throwing her arms around Martin's shoulders, then beckoning the others closer. Gripps and Cross took up position on either side of her, and Vogel jumped at them, trapping her in the middle of an embrace. She leaned in, kissing them all on the cheek or lips or forehead, whatever she could reach, and laughing. She was back. She was where she was meant to be.

"Easy now Drummer girl," Martin teased. "Your brother's over there and I don't think he wants to be dealing with this stuff before breakfast."  
She laughed, her smile coming easily now, and settled down with them, sharing breakfast, trading bites of candy with Vogel and patting Beast when she came over for a cuddle.

***

"You .... you look like you." Todd greeted his sister with a smile, Dirk leaning against him. Dirk still looked a little pale, but was managing to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, so there was progress.  
"Feel like me too," she answered. "Before you ask, I dunno what caused it. I keep the wand in the glove compartment when I sleep - I dunno if I managed to activate it, or if it went off, or what. But this whole thing has been a whole rollercoaster of weird." She paused, and punched Todd gently in the arm. "You were right by the way. At times, you were a shit big brother."

"I know," he admitted, glancing at the floor.  
"You were," she continued. "You made up for it this time round. For now at least."  
"Me and my guys owe you one," Martin agreed, slinging an arm around Amanda's waist. Todd shrugged and smiled.  
"Just wanted to get her back where she should be."

Amanda laughed softly, and Dirk leaned in, kissing Todd on the lips and nuzzling his shoulder.  
"Does this mean we get our own bed back?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has read this, and especially thank you to Lourdesdeath, ToMarsAndBeyond3 and GuenVanHelsing for commenting - it always really makes my day!


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